


A Simple Decision

by CJ_Walker



Series: We'll Figure it Out [3]
Category: Splatoon
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/F, Family Shenanigans, Fluff and Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Octo Expansion DLC, minor adult themes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-03-02 17:58:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18816088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CJ_Walker/pseuds/CJ_Walker
Summary: Pearl and Marina decide it's time to do something rather special for Eight.





	A Simple Decision

**Author's Note:**

> Happy belated Mother's Day! I didn't think I'd be bringing this series back, but uh... here we are lmao. I asked for writing prompts on Twitter and really adored this one and thought it would fit well within this series.
> 
> Like the last part, you do not have to read the previous entries to this series to enjoy it, but there are references that allude back to those aformentioned fics.

“Pearl! Eight! I’m home!”

 

Marina expertly kicked the door behind her closed as she walked inside their quaint place of establishment. Sliding off her boots at the doorway, next to two pairs of smaller shoes, Marina reached for the nearby closet and stored away her motorcycle helmet along with her black Rockenberg jacket. Setting down her keys in a dish, the tall octoling stretched her hands high above her head as she began to walk down the hall into the living room. It was early into the night, the moon just beginning to climb it’s way into the sky and Marina soon found herself tipping her head to the side as she flipped on the hallway lights. Their home was dark; it appeared that Pearl and Eight were nowhere to be seen.

 

She stopped at the granite bar for a brief moment to thumb through the mail that was sitting on top of it.

 

 _Bills, junk, junk, more junk…_ Marina halted on one colorful flyer in particular. _Thanks for being a loyal customer… Here’s 20% off your next purchase to Hot Tropic...?_

 

She quietly chuckled to herself as she flipped to the next envelope. _Babe, what did you order this time?_ She found herself intrigued at whatever Pearl picked up from that store again… just as long as it wasn’t another pair of weird Fresh Fish underwear…

 

Marina blushed at that memory, of when she first saw Pearl wearing them, of when they first… well… _yeah._  That’s time seemed like eons ago, but in actuality, it had only been just shy of half a year ago.

 

But _so much_ had changed in their lives in that little amount of time.

 

Marina’s teal eyes flickered to a picture sitting against the countertop, her eyes softening as she looked at the wide-grinning little kid standing between her and Pearl as they all looked to the camera.

 

 _So_ much.

 

Letting out a content sigh, Marina set the array of envelopes back onto the counter and glanced around their home. She quickly noted that the pillows on the couches were immaculately positioned, pristine and without a wrinkle in sight. The coffee table was clear of it’s usual domestic clutter, the rug underneath it freshly printed with the temporary faint lines from a vacuum. As Marina turned her attention to the kitchen, she noticed that it was sparkly clean, all of the dishes squared away out of sight. Marina had to admit she was impressed, those two seemed to have really cleaned things up while she was out. She tapped her foot on the pedal to the rubbish bin, noting that it was empty with a new, fresh bag inside. Huh. the always forgotten trash taken care of as well? Color her _seriously_ impressed.

 

Where were those two anyway? Perhaps Pearl had really gotten Eight to bed on time.

 

Walking back into the living room, Marina quietly made her way up the stairs to the second floor. When she reached Eight’s room, Pearl’s old room, she quietly pushed open the door and peeped inside.

 

Her head tipped to the side once more as she frowned.

 

The room was empty.

 

Backing out and walking a short distance down the hallway, she did the same to her and Pearl’s room, but was met with the same scenario; a vacant space.

 

“Pearl? Eight?” Marina called out again, beginning to check every space of the home. She briefly pondered the idea that perhaps the two weren’t here, but then she remember that she saw Pearl and Eight’s casual shoes at the doorway, so they were most definitely here… somewhere?

 

As the octoling walked back downstairs, she opened the door to the main restroom and stepped inside and found that, once again, it was empty. Beyond confused, and even growing a little worried at this point, Marina begin to make her way out, but not before noticing that the bottom cabinet to the vanity was open just the slightest hair. All those years she had spent back in her military days had made Marina’s vision and hearing sharp and crisp, not even the smallest of abnormal details slipping past her.

 

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the little crack.

 

 _Oh, so this is what we’re doing, huh?_ She thought with a tiny smirk.

 

With a dramatic huff, Marina placed her hands to her hips and tapped her foot impatiently. “Oh, _where_ in the world are they?” She purposely murmured out loud to herself. “Guess they’re not in here either… time to check back upstaaairs...” She then walked in place, making sure to thump her feet against the smooth tile floor, first loudly, then eventually faded down the volume into nothing. Once she had her faux scenario in place, Marina quickly and silently made her way into the tub and hid behind the shower curtain, peeping out from just behind it.

 

Everything was still and static for several moments before she saw the door to the tiny cabinet twitch. Slowly, out crawled a cautious Pearl, followed closely behind by a young, pink-tentacled octoboy. They both stood to their feet, chuckling deviously to one another before Pearl quickly raised a pale finger to her lips. Eight nodded, mimicking her by doing the same gesture to his own lips.

 

Marina had to bite her tongue to keep herself from snorting and revealing her location.

 

 _Unbelievable,_  she thought.

 

She continued to watch as Pearl carefully poked her head outside the bathroom door, eventually signaling with her hand for Eight to follow suit. Together, they tip-toed their way out of the bathroom, and unknowingly, Marina followed closely behind them. The scene was like one from an old, mystery-solving cartoon; the protagonist and her side-kick shuffling through a dark, vacant house all while a large, hidden figure sneakily loomed after them.

 

Unfortunately, Marina accidentally stepped on a creaky plank of wood and cringed, halting mid-step. Upon hearing the uncanny noise, Pearl and Eight also abruptly stopped, their hands spreading out to their sides. Marina watched as the pink cephalopods gave each other a knowing, worried look, refusing to look behind them as they swallowed nervously. After a painfully quiet few moments, Pearl and Eight simultaneously began to make a break for it, but their efforts were already deemed futile.

 

In an instant, Marina lunged out and snared Pearl and Eight’s torsos underneath her long arms, scooping them both into the air. “Gotcha!” She cheered triumphantly, watching in amusement as her companions flailed around helplessly.

 

“Hey, no fair!” Pearl groaned out before eventually letting her body go limp in defeat, her arms and legs dangling above the floor. There was a tiny huff from Marina’s other side as Eight came to the conclusion that he too, had been captured.

 

“So, you guys were going to try and scare me, huh…” Marina murmured, dipping her neck to gently bump her head against Eight’s in a form of greeting. The little octoling couldn’t help but return the gesture with a bashful smile. Marina then turned to her partner, dropping a chaste kiss to her pale cheek. “Alright… I see how it is…”

 

Pearl snorted within her hold, her face flushing to a light pink. “Y’see… 'scare' is such a strong word…” She quibbed, “We were thinking more along the lines of a… _surprise_ … right, Eight?”

 

Eight nodded his head vigorously in agreement, his single tentacle comically flopping up and down.

 

“Right…” Marina murmured, rolling her eyes playfully. “Anyways, I appreciate you both cleaning up while I was gone, but now…” She pointedly set her two small companions down, back to the safety of solid ground. “Eight, it’s time for you to get ready for bed. _Pearl_ ,” Marina eyed her partner. “was supposed to be getting you started with that process by this time of night.”

 

“Whaaat?” Pearl folded her arms and pouted, “But it’s not even late yet, and Eight wasn’t tired so I figured he could stay up.” Eight observed Pearl’s demeanor with wide, innocent green eyes before sharply mimicking her expression.

 

Marina couldn’t help but snort as she watched the reaction. Eight and Pearl were essentially the same person at that exact moment, both of their eyebrows furrowed as they stood with crossed arms and pouting lips. Eight was significantly shorter than most kids his age, the top of his head stopping just shy of Pearl’s own petite stature, which only amplified their mirrored image. Hell, even his hair was ironically pink, matching the tinted ends of Pearl’s bobbed tentacles.

 

“Tired or not, bedtime is still bedtime.” Marina decided, beckoning to the staircase with a nod of her head. “Go on now, up ya go.”

 

Eight hesitated, his pseudo-annoyed appearance cracking on the surface as he cast an unsure glance to Pearl.

 

The small inkling sighed, pointing with her thumb to Marina. “Sorry Champ, but Boss Lady here makes the rules.”

 

“Pearl,” Marina raised an incredulous eyebrow, “ We _both_ agreed to make Eight’s bedtime-”

 

“That’s besides the point.” Pearl muttered quickly with a flippant wave of her hand, her attention focused on Eight. “But she’s right, kiddo. Go on up and get situated, we’ll be right behind you in a sec.”

 

With a defeated sigh, Eight slouched his shoulders and began to trudge his way up the stairs.

 

“We’ll read you your favorite booook…” Pearl sang after him. Almost immediately, those sluggish, clompy footsteps turned into an eager scamper as Eight dashed up the stairs on all fours to his room. Turning to Marina, Pearl offered a smug grin. “ _Ea_ _sy_.” She declared, placing her hands proudly against her hips, to which Marina could only roll her eyes at once more. With a quiet snicker, she soon lessened her bravado and gently bumped her hand against Marina’s. “How’re you?” She asked. “Did you have fun nerding out over tech stuff at Sheldon’s geek factory or whatever?”

 

Marina blushed at Pearl’s teasing before cooly crossing her arms over her chest. “We weren’t... _nerding_ out.” She corrected, her eyebrow twitching as she tried to mask her embarrassment. She didn’t consider it nerding out, but more like… _enthusiastically participating_ in an activity that she just so _happen_ to have a hefty amount of knowledge and interest in.

 

“I have you know," Marina began, "we were analyzing Stage-2 blueprints and exchanging conceptual ideas for new hardware that could potentially be used on the later installments of weapons and specials. Which is really fascinating stuff, mind you, because every single design is so intricate and purposeful, every idea so beautifully conceived with the utmost attention to detail to insure that they perform as they should upon every single input and command.”

 

“Like, you should have seen it, Pearl!” She continued, her teal eyes glimmering against the amber lights of their home. “Sheldon has this giant armory at the back of his shop were he keeps all of his prototypes of his infantile, in-progress designs. Oh-! Like, there’s this one Splatling… that… that can...” Marina’s voice trailed off as when she noticed the way Pearl’s eyebrows were raised high into the sky as she wore a slick, smug grin.

 

Marina blushed further, clasping her hands together as she shyly glanced away. “I-It’s _not_ … n-nerding out…” She insisted under her breath.

 

“Yeah, and I’m a ten-foot jellyfish.” Pearl laughed. “ _That,_ is why I always opt out of tagging along with you.” She reached forward and gently held Marina’s larger hands within her own. “I’m glad you had a good time being a dork though, but I’m even more glad that my dork is back home.”

 

"Dork, yourself." Marina grinned as she looked down to her partner, her blush spreading to her ears, although this time for completely different reasons. It didn’t matter how many times Pearl looked at her like that. With _that_ look. A look so gentle and soft, a look reserved _specifically_ for her and no one else. Every single time, the younger girl felt a flutter, a blithe kick surge from deep within her heart. It was a rather juvenile emotion, one that Marina would have thought that she would be longer over, this far into their relationship, especially considering…

 

Marina glanced to the smaller hands covering hers, something else catching her eye. The emotion swirling within her chest only heightened further as she felt Pearl gently squeeze her palms.

 

Unable to help herself, Marina’s lips twitched upwards as she began to lean down towards Pearl. A tiny whine soon fizzed out of her when she was not greeted by Pearl’s soft lips, but instead, the tip of a pale finger. “Nu-uh, no ma’am.” Pearl grinned to her, gesturing to the top of the stairs. “There’s a kid that needs to be tucked in, remember?” Marina frowned and pouted against her lips. She just wanted _one_ little kiss from her love whom she hadn't seen for a vast part of the whole day -- where was the harm in that?!

 

Pearl couldn’t help but snort at her expression. “You... are _such_ a hypocrite, oh my cod!”

 

“Am not.” Marina grumbled through a barely hidden smile as she began to make her way up the stairs, Pearl following close behind, squabbling all the while. She reached to the wall and flicked off a few switches, casting them in darkness. However, the soft glow of light pooling out from Eight’s bedroom illuminated from the top of the stairs, giving them a beacon to follow without tripping over their own two feet.

 

Their banter soon came to an immediate halt when they stepped into Eight’s room and saw that the little octoling was splayed across his matress, completely knocked out. In his hands was his favorite book, an ongoing story following the misadventures of a character named Zach and his magical talking animal friends. Eight was able to fully comprehend and understand both Octarian, Squiddish, and even Sign, when he would converse with Agent Four. Despite this, Eight himself spoke very little, verbally, but the one thing he _always_ talked about was his love for this fictional character.

 

After observing his sleeping form, Pearl and Marina looked to one another with soft, knowing smiles. Quietly, they made their way over to his bed, Marina moving to tuck him in properly while Pearl gently removed the book from his hands. Once he was situated, Marina brushed his tentacle out of his face with a feathers’ touch. “Good night, bud.” She whispered quietly as Pearl clicked off the bedroom lamp.

 

Together, they soundlessly padded out of Eight’s room, leaving his door slightly parted. Walking the short distance down the hallway, Pearl and Marina retired to their own room. Marina made a bee-line to their walk-in closet, quickly shedding herself of her casual gear to change into a comfortable pair of joggers with a simple black crop-top. Pearl hopped into the sheets of their bed, already dressed in loungewear, and began to thumb aimlessly on her phone over social media and other outlets. The air around them was calm and comforting, familiar and relaxing as they began to wind down for the night by their own means. It really wasn’t that late, but Pearl and Marina didn’t find it necessary, or even worthwhile to stay up so late like they often did in the past. They had a lot more… responsibilities on their plate now, as compared to then.

 

And speaking of which…

 

“...Hey, Mar...” Pearl called to her partner, looking up from her phone. Upon hearing her voice, Marina soon emerged from their joined bathroom, her hands tangled within her thick tentacles as a hair-tie hung limp from within her teeth. Once she was done dressing her hair in a messy bun, she gave Pearl a blank look before suddenly taking off, in full sprint, towards the bed. Pearl squeaked in utter chaos and alarm as she found herself airborne when Marina threw her entire body onto the mattress with no warning.

 

“...Yes?” Marina cooed, as she now lied on her stomach with her arms folded neatly underneath of chin.

 

Pearl gave her a disgruntled look as she reached over the edge and picked her phone off of the ground. “First of all, _unnecessary._ ” She grumbled, patting down her frazzled shirt. “Secondly… I’ve.. uhh… been w-wanting to ask you about something...” She rather quickly became tongue tied, fumbling over her words like a helpless child.

 

“Mn?” Beside her, Marina tipped her head in genuine interest. “About what?”

 

Pearl glanced down to Marina and blushed, noting that she had her full, undivided attention. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about… uhm… _Heck_.” The octoling’s eyebrow raised upon hearing such an innocent phrase of discomfort, which was still so unlike Pearl. Ever since they crossed paths with Eight, Marina noticed that her partner had been making the conscious effort  to try and not curse as much, _especially_ when the little octokid was around.

 

Marina found it incredibly thoughtful and endearing, to say in the least.

 

Noticing that her partner was becoming more and more flushed with each passing moment, Marina slid her hand across the sheets and gently shook her knee. “Well… just don’t leave me on a cliffhanger down here.” She offered light-heartedly. “What’s on your mind, babe?” Pearl glanced back down to her, mouth parting and closing, as she just couldn’t get her words to formulate.

 

“Just spit it out already, Pearlie.” Marina joked with a smile. “You know you can talk to me about anyth-”

 

“Let’s adopt him.” Pearl blurted out suddenly.

 

Marina blinked at her a few times, her smile wilting away as if she didn’t think she heard her partner correctly. “...w-what?” She managed to choke out eventually, retracting her hand from Pearl’s knee as she propped herself up on her elbows.

 

“Let’s adopt Eight,” Pearl reiterated, her golden eyes glinting with sharp, quiet determination. “Like, officially. With legitimate documentation and _everything._  He’s been staying with us for so long now, he’s practically family, but…” Cream eyebrows bunched together as she gave her partner a serious, resolute look. “We _need_ to make it official. It will never be fair to him if we don’t give him that security and peace of mind.”

 

A long stretch of silence passed between them as Marina processed the information. She slowly sat up and shuffled her way over to the edge of the bed, her back facing Pearl.

 

Pearl cast her a worried glance, turning in her direction. “Marina…?” She prompted, suddenly looking as if she wanted to retract her previous bold declaration. “Do you… not feel the same?”

 

Marina shook her head, her shoulders slumping as she released a weighted sigh. “No… I-I agree…” She murmured out eventually. “Honestly, I’ve been… thinking about that as well and…” She paused again, allowing for a hollow laugh to escape her as she leaned down over her knees. “I’m just… I don’t know anything about that, Pearl? Like, what if I’m no good at it?”

 

Pearl’s body jerked upwards upon hearing that, her lips drawing into a tight line as she stared at Marina’s back as if it had sudden grown a head.

 

Nope. Marina wasn't allowed to go down that road.

 

Not if she had anything to say about it.

 

Pearl quickly kicked off the comforter and sheets and crawled her way across the bed to sit next to Marina. She immediately placed a comforting hand to the small of her partner’s exposed back and began to rub small circles into her skin. Every instinct was telling Pearl to completely smother Marina in a breath-stopping embrace, but Pearl also knew that Marina needed space to analyze, to think things over in that smart noggin' of hers.

 

So, she simply just started off with a light touch.

 

“...What makes you say that?” Pearl eventually asked, her voice low and soft.

 

Marina shrugged her shoulders, aloof and meaningless. “Well… you know… octolings don’t really have…” She bit her lip, taking a brief moment to gather her thoughts. “ I-I didn’t have a mother, or even a guardian figure like you did…” She glanced up to the ceiling, her teal eyes troubled as they locked onto the swirling fan above. “I mean, how could I possibly be a good… mother, when I’ve never even had an example to follow? I want to be the best I can for Eight, but… I don’t know if I can deliver in a department that I'm so... _unfamiliar_ with.”

 

The air around them became quiet and still once more as Pearl’s comforting thumb gradually slowed to a stop. After a pregnant pause, Pearl let out a thoughtful sigh as she leaned forward to stand up off the bed.

 

“...Rina, babe, listen to me…”

 

Stooping down to one knee, Pearl positioned herself in front of her partner, drawing the octoling’s attention back on her. Reaching for Marina's left hand, she gently held her fingertips within her small palms. With a soft touch, Pearl ran the pad of her thumb across the shiny, silver ring adorning one of the dark-skinned digits. It was diamond encrusted, the swanky jewel lining all around the circumference of the band. Pearl then touched the ring with the matching golden one on her own ring finger. Her’s was of the same manner, only Pearl's ring matched the jewels that could be found on her casual crown.

 

“It was more than just preserving the one good thing from your past, you know.” Pearl began quietly, meeting Marina's eyes with a soft yet, serious look. “Marina, I decided, no… _wanted,_  to take your last name because I wanted to be with _you_ , for all that you are, and I need you to know that'll never change.” Pearl blinked for a moment, then snickered quietly. “That, and Pearl Ida just always had a nice ring to it.”

 

Marina smiled sheepishly, her face warming with a blush. She opened her mouth to reply, but Pearl politely cut her off. “Hang on, I… I'm not done yet…” Taking a deep breath, Pearl moved to hold both of Marina's hand within hers. “Rina… when we make the decision to be together until death do us apart… I was so happy and excited yet, beyond _terrified._ I've never done anything like this before, and as you know, you're the only person I've ever felt this… deeply connected with.”

 

“I was scared, worried that what we were getting into was something I wouldn't be able to handle. Marriage? They didn't teach that in grade school! What did I know? But even so… I knew that by the end of the day, everything would be okay because I was by your side, and you were by mine.” As she spoke, Pearl absentmindedly rubbed at Marina's hand, massaging it, appreciating the way Marina's dark skin contrasted so greatly against hers. “And yeah… maybe you haven’t had much experience with parenting, shit- I mean heck, I haven’t really either but… I can’t help but also feel like that… if this is what we want… This will also work out in the end as well, right?”

 

“I'm… uhm, still not too good with words yet, so I'm not quite sure where I was going with all of this, but…” Pearl glanced back up to her _wife._ “Marina, in the short amount of time that we’ve known each other, in the shorter amount time that we’ve been together, and in the _even_ shorter amount of time we’ve been married… you've changed my life _so_ much, you know that? I wouldn't be the person I am today if it weren't for you, and I truly mean that. You’ve taught me so much....” She dropped a delicate kiss to Marina’s hand, offering one of her iconic grins, and Marina couldn’t help but be smitten by it. Pearl was the ultimate charmer, when she wanted to be.

 

Snared by her wife’s alluring presence, Marina fell privy to curiosity. “Like… like what?” She piped up sheepishly, gently squeezing Pearl’s hand within hers.

 

Pearl snorted in disbelief. “Uh, more like what _haven’t_ you taught me?” She laughed. “You’ve taught me things like, how to have patience with myself, and especially others. You’ve taught me the importance of details, and even though I don’t analyze them to your extent, that they are still important. You’ve taught and helped me learn how to ride a bike without training wheels, for Zapfish’ sake! You've also taught me that's it's okay to, uh… it's okay t-to…” Pearl blushed, her confidence beginning to falter as she suddenly and unintentionally veered into territory that she didn’t _at all_ mean to get into.

 

She soon found her voice one more after a hasty clear of the throat, determined to finish this mess that she started. “You taught me... that it's okay to, uhm, not always be... _loud_ all of the time, and that it's okay to, erm, t-take a back seat and, uh,” She coughed, her face going from a sakura pink to a cherry red. “Y'know… uh, h-how would you say… be… _small_. It's okay for me to be _small_ sometimes, yes.”

 

“O-Oh jeez, Pearlie…” Marina shook her head, her own blush spreading across her face as she sported an embarrassed smile. “Well... that's certainly _one_ way to put it...”

 

“...A-ANYWAYS…” Pearl stammered out, frantically trying to reel back in her emotions. “The POINT I was trying to make was… I… uhhh…?” She soon slapped the heel of her hand to her forehead, her train of genuine, heartfelt, sentimental speech long disrupted.

 

In a feeble effort to salvage the moment, Pearl stood to full height and leaned forward to press her lips against Marina’s. She decided to let her mouth do the talking in a much _different_ way. Her wife let out a tiny, surprised chirp at the unexpected touch, but her eyes soon fluttered closed as she settled into the kiss. Marina sighed against those smooth, pale lips, her hands instinctively reaching out to hold Pearl’s slender waist. The small inkling reached down and curled an index finger underneath Marina’s chin, effectively tilting her head back to deepen their kiss into something that took both of their hearts and breaths away.

 

After a few quiet moments, Pearl pulled away. “You’d be a great mother.” She whispered, pressing their foreheads together as both of her hands cupped Marina’s cheeks.

 

“You… really think so?” Marina asked quietly, her hands rising up to gently grasp Pearl’s wrists.

 

Pearl blew a noisy raspberry, as if that was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. “Babe, I _know_ so. And us together, as Team Mom? Eight’s gonna be the best kid on the block!” With her iconic grin, Pearl pressed a quick peck to Marina’s forehead. “There. Now, have I convinced you enough of this yet?”

 

“I…” Marina shrugged feebly, her eyes flickering to the side. “I don’t know..”

 

Pearl frowned, her natural stubbornness egging her on to refuse to be outdone. Lowering her lips, she kissed Marina’s cheek. “How about now?”

 

Marina offered a sly smile, trying her absolute hardest to keep her giggles to herself. “Hmm… I might be, if you perhaps... do a little more... _persuading..._ ”

 

Pearl raised an eyebrow, her grin lengthening as her cheeks rose in color with a blush. “Oh now _that,_ I can do.” With a sinister laugh, Pearl happily brought her lips back to Marina’s. The octoling couldn’t help but snicker against her, their kiss momentarily containing clacking teeth and quivering lips as they fought to get their amatuer giggles under control. Eventually they succeeded, their grins naturally fading away as they began to truly settle into each other’s warmth. They kept their kisses languid and meaningful, Marina’s arms naturally wrapping around Pearl’s neck as the inkling gently guided her onto her back and climbed over her.

 

“I love you _so_ much, Marina...” Pearl murmured in between their locks lips, greatly enjoying the calming way Marina’s ginger hands threaded through her tentacles. After a few quiet moments, Marina pulled back the slightest bit to meet Pearl's affectionate, half-lidded eyes.

 

She could hardly believe that there had ever been a time when Pearl was too nervous to say those simple words.

 

“I love you too, Pearl Ida.” Marina echoed, beginning to tug her wife back down, their eyes fluttering once more. However, an abnormal, out-of-place shape caught the octoling's attention from the corner of her eye. Turning her head to the side, Marina suddenly released a terrified yelp that rivaled Pearl’s own high-pitched squeaks.

 

“EIGHT?!” She cried out suddenly, pushing herself up to her elbows, causing Pearl's lips to tragically crash into her chin.

 

“Ouch-!! Mar, what the- holy FUCK.” Pearl exclaimed, also noticing their unpresented roommate. “I mean, shit-- I mean, fuck-- I mean _darn!!_ ” She quickly scrambled off of her partner to sit next to her, both of their faces blaring hot with embarrassment. “ _Eight!!_ When?! Where?? WHAT?!?”

 

...Just _how_ long had he been-?!

 

Oh cod, what if...

 

...what if Pearl and Marina... NEVER NOTICED HE WAS THERE BY THE TIME THEY STARTED TO--

 

“Monster.” Eight grumbled out with a pout, pulling his thin fleece further over his head in a makeshift cocoon. He then stood to his feet -- clearly he had been there for a while if he had taken the luxury to sit down. As Marina and Pearl looked on in frozen shock, the young boy began to scuttle his way over to the edge of the bed. With a tiny grunt, he climbed his way into the sheets and squashed himself directly between a very confused and still very flustered Pearl and Marina.

 

“M-Monster…?” Pearl stammered out, still trying to find her voice.

 

“O-Oh…” Marina realized with a nervous huff, quickly putting together the pieces to the puzzle. “A nightmare, Pearl.”

 

Eight nodded his head in confirmation, making himself comfortable within the sheets. He really was a small little thing, squeezing himself right into the little tiny space between the girls. With a tired sigh, it took Eight only mere seconds before he fell back asleep. Eight... didn't _think_ like your typical fourteen-year-old because he _wasn't_ your typical fourteen-year-old. Not to say that there was anything inherently wrong with him, but he just did things differently than those his age. Eight had also seen and been through so much more… _junk_ than anyone else his age, hell, even Pearl and Marina's ages. If the young teen was having trouble sleeping, then Pearl and Marina would gladly allow for him to room with them for the night. The nightmare plagued him non-stop when he first breached the surface, but since then, a year later, they've become a lot less frequent.

 

It had been a while since Eight had came to seek comfort from his companions, so Pearl and Marina… well... They had gotten used to _not_ having a guest at night, to say at the very least.

 

“Guess… guess we’re going to bed now...” Marina realized, reaching over to turn off their bedroom lamp as Pearl silently screamed the last of her embarrassment into the palms of her hands.

 

What an absolute, unfortunate tragedy this was.

 

Eventually, embarrassment subsiding, the two older girls settled themselves into the sheets along with Eight, each of their arms resting protectively against his side. As Marina tried her hardest to unwillingly drift off to sleep, a barely audible voice caught her battle-trained ears.

 

“But now I can’t really reach you…” Pearl muttered out with a frown. It wasn’t that she didn’t care for Eight, quite literally the opposite, but even though it was a selfish, juvenile thought, Pearl had _really_ been looking forward to snuggling up in Marina’s hold for tonight.

 

Marina blinked at her, both chastising her for that thought, but also sympathizing with that sentiment. She longingly rested her hand against her partner's before her eyes suddenly narrowed with a passing thought. Pearl's golden eyes trailed in confusion as Marina carefully and sneakily slipped out of the sheets and tip-toed around to her side. She was soon graced with the familiar, comforting feeling of Marina's warm arms wrapping around her waist as the mattress dipped for her weight.

 

“This better?” Marina whispered, dropping a kiss to the back of Pearl's ear. The small inkling snuggled backward, letting her body perfectly meld into Marina's.

 

“ _Always._ ” Pearl breathed. Marina slid her hand against Pearl's side until she ran across her hand. Taking it gently within hers, Marina raised their joined hands into the air. Both girls observed them quietly, watching, deep within their own thoughts as their matching silver and gold bands twinkled in the faint moonlight.

 

“...Hey, Pearl?”

 

“Mhm?”

 

“Let's make it official.”

 

There were a few moments of still silence, of pensive contemplation, before Pearl slowly turned her head over her shoulder. “...really?” Her voice was no more than a hair of a hesitant whisper, as if worried that speaking any louder would somehow cause Marina to change her mind.

 

The taller girl giggled quietly as she lowered their twined fingers and planted a kiss, just there, to Pearl's knuckles. “ _Really_ really. I trust your judgement.” Marina confirmed, “I... don't know too much of how any of this works, officially,  but can we… get it all sorted out tomorrow?”

 

Pearl blinked at her a few more times before her eyes slowly softened. She couldn't help but squeeze Marina's hand a bit tighter.

 

Her partner raised an eyebrow, noting how Pearl's golden eyes _continued_ to soften as they began to glisten a bit brighter in the calming moonlight. “Baby, don’t cry on me…” Marina teased, rapidly blinking her teal eyes to calm her own emotions. Seeing Pearl cry, the rare few occassions it happened, always made _her_ cry, and the last thing they needed to be doing was sob softly to each other while their soon-to-be son lay sleeping just on the other side.

 

Upon hearing that accusation, Pearl's face rose to a light shade of pink as she gave a bashful laugh and hastily swiped her hand across her eyes. “I... I-I'm not…”

 

Marina snickered, leaning her chin down against Pearl's shoulder as she held her closer in her arms. “I think you were about to...”

 

That earned her a snort, and Pearl playfully pushed back against her, pressing her cheek to Marina's. “You're… _totally_ seeing things.”

 

“Hmm… No, I'm _pretty_ sure I saw-”

 

“-nothing.” Pearl smirked. “Nothing at all.”

 

“Peaaarlie…” Marina sneakily slipped her hands just below the hem of her partner's shirt, faintly drumming her fingers against the soft skin of Pearl's stomach as she dropped tiny kisses all along Pearl's neck and face. “Just admit it…”

 

Laughter bubbled from within Pearl as her body twitched against Marina's dancing fingers. “Neverrrr.” She declared, her face warming with more temperature.

 

Unable to keep their giggles to themselves,  their affectionate banter was soon interrupted when they were suddenly casted over in a dark shadow. Glancing up in confusion, Pearl and Marina were met with the sight of Eight sitting up, staring straight out infront of him, his shoulders slouched. The small octoling then slowly, rigidly, turned his head down towards his noisy companions, looming over them with a sleepy, irritated expression. The kind of sleepy, irritated look someone gives you when a peacefully sleeping person is blinded awake when someone rudely yanks open the curtains to reveal jovial sunshine.

 

With a nervous chuckle, Marina ducked underneath Pearl's shoulder as Pearl herself offered up a sheepish, apologetic grin.

 

They received a deadpan, unimpressed look.

 

With bleary, barely opened eyes, Eight suddenly began to climb over Pearl, elbowing and kneeing all the while, the small inkling struggling to keep her grunts of mild pain to minimum. With a sleepy grumble, Eight wiggled himself between the older girls once more, determined to be sandwiched by their warmth, even if it meant pushing all three of them off the edge of the bed.

 

With a knowing smile, Marina leaned down and pressed a quick peck to the edge of Eight’s forehead. “Forgive us, buddy.” The little octoling murmured under his breath, but said nothing more as he curled himself within the sheets. Lowering the her head back down on the pillow, Marina rested her hand against Eight’s side and released a deep, content sigh.

 

The last thing she saw as she drifted to sleep was a pair of soft golden eyes, gazing back to her over the top of Eight’s hair.

 

Marina smiled inwardly,  blinking warmly at her wife.

 

Tomorrow was bound to be promising and exciting.

**Author's Note:**

> I know the overwhelming vast majority goes with female Agent Eight, but I am one of the few stans for male Agent Eight because that's who I played OE as lol. Sorry if that reveal threw some of you for a loop but like... that's my BABY, hello?? ♡♡♡
> 
> Anyways, this fic is going to be pretty short, only two chapters total, but I hope it's still enjoyable, regardless~


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